This past weekend was my first experience contributing to an art show and fortunately, it was an art show with a cause. Operation Consent was created Elise Dorsey (@cyborgshawty) to bring awareness to the horrific act of rape and the disgusting culture surrounding it. The show was designed to bring the information, the pain and the stories out of the darkness and force people to deal with the reality that this is a real problem that plagues our society.

Coming into the situation, I was ignorant to how real and scary the culture surrounding rape culture is. After doing a bit of research, asking men and women their current perception of rape and looking at statistics, I quickly realized that the underlining layer is the secrets kept within the system. Victims sometimes afraid and embarrassed of ridicule from their family and friends, officials sometimes ignoring or downplaying the severity of cases and suspects escaping trials without even a slap on the wrist. At this point, I needed my contribution to be stronger in order to deliver the severity of the act. I hope that after watching the video above and really taking the time to digest the photos, people will leave with a better understanding of how serious rape is.